Roughing It

"Every man you met had his pockets full of 'prospects.'" First published in 1872, Roughing It is a semi-autobiographical travelogue that follows the journeys of young Mark Twain through the American West during the years 1861-1867. He recounts his attempts at gold and silver mining, gets involved in real estate speculation, details his trip to Salt Lake City and encounters with the Brigham Young Mormons, encountering con men and prospectors, Mormon settlers and frontier journalists, all rendered with the warmth, irreverence, and comic timing that made him one of the defining voices of American literature. Roughing It begins as a young man's restless adventure but quickly becomes a kaleidoscope of tall tales, misadventures, and sharply observed portraits of a country inventing itself at breakneck speed. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain (1835–1910), grew up along the banks of the Mississippi River, and his early experiences inspired many of his most famous works, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Widely celebrated as America's greatest humorist, Twain captured the spirit of a rapidly changing nation, and his sharp wit, keen eye for human nature, and gift for storytelling made him not only a beloved novelist but also a popular lecturer and essayist. Twain's innovative style, character-driven storytelling and ability to interweave humour with profound social critique laid the groundwork for modern American literature and has inspired countless authors, including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Indeed, Hemingway famously declared that "all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn."